Many type of foods may seem harmless but actually aren’t and can be even deadly if you aren’t careful. Even though the foods we are about to mention can be lethal, they’re delicatessens in some countries. Also, many of the dishes prepared with those ingredients are, most of the time, delicious, so you shouldn’t miss some of them.
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Fugu
You have probably already heard about the pufferfish and how this dish is so popular in Japan. But, unfortunately, very few Japanese chefs know how to prepare this dish, and even fewer more are allowed to serve it to the public. Furthermore, the ones allowed to serve it must undergo years — up to ten years — of training.
The ovaries, the liver, and the intestines of the pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin. If you don’t know this, that is a neurotoxin that can be 1200 times deadlier than cyanide. In other words, if it’s prepared the wrong way, you won’t be able to breathe in a second. Despite all the precautions, many people have died thanks to this food.
Sannakji
This is a popular dish in South Korea, and you should try it at least once in a lifetime; however, you should be careful too. Sannakji consist of baby octopus served’ alive’; you won’t eat the baby octopus as it is; its tentacles are cut and served almost instantly. The dish it’s very dangerous because the tentacles maintain the suction even after several minutes.
The best way to eat this is to try to chew the tentacle before they stick in the roof of your mouth. If you don’t chew and just let them roll to your throat, you could die by asphyxia because they stick there too. At least six people choke to death with this plate every year, so try to chew carefully.
Absinthe
If you are a book enthusiast, you probably already know about this famous drink because it was popular between writers and poets. There are multiples ways to buy the booze and have it; the traditional is pouring the absinthe over a sugar cube inside a cold glass. You could buy a bottle and drink it with friends at a reunion if you want.
The tricky part comes when the drink finally kicks in. This already sweet beverage is made with woodworm, fennel and anise; however, the woodworm contains a chemical that can cause hallucinations. Therefore, you should be careful when you drink it because you could have violent hallucinations or put yourself in danger.
Ackee Fruit
Better known as the national fruit of Jamaica, it’s very delicious but hazardous if you can’t control yourself. If you eat an unripe Ackee fruit, you might die because it contains hypoglycin, a deadly poison. The fruit must be ripe in the three until it blooms to be safe to eat. You can know this because the outside will be split open.
Also, never open it yourself if you find an unopen one, don’t eat the seed and don’t eat the pink flesh. The only edible part is a cream-coloured pulp around the seed. Everything else we mentioned is highly toxic. If you don’t prepare it right or use it in recipes, it can cause severe sickness.
Cassava
Many countries in Latin America and Africa enjoy cassava ad it’s a very tropical, tasty snack. Many locals eat chip-like snacks along with other dishes; however, one specific variety it’s deadly. The manioc is the root of a bush, and it’s a type of root similar to taro. When eaten raw, it has a toxic substance that becomes cyanide in our bodies. Therefore, before preparing the Cassava, the manioc must undergo a process to remove the toxins.
Red Kidney Beans
This is one favourite vegan proteins because they are tasty and versatile. Prepare Red Kidney Beans. It’s easy, but if you try them raw, you can intoxicate yourself. They are rich in phytohaemagglutinin in the raw form – in case you want to investigate a little. In other, easier words, that’s a toxic variety of lectin.
When you eat a lot of that toxic, you can damage your gut by eating the beans raw. Thanks to that, you won’t be able to absorb your nutrients properly. As a result, you can also have diarrhoea, abdominal pain, headaches and more.
Hákarl
Iceland has a lot of tasty traditional dishes, but the only one that’s really dangerous it’s this one. Hákarl consists of Greenland shark meat cured and hung to dry for three to five months. This is necessary because the meat has high urea and trimethylamine oxide levels and can be lethal if you eat it just like that.
